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Savannah's Sauers leads Insperity

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Gene Sauers of Savannah chipped in for birdie on the par-4 17th a day after making a double bogey on the hole, and finished with a 6-under 66 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s Insperity Championship.

Sauers hit into the water on the 17th hole Friday, but atoned for the mistake Saturday with a 25-yard chip.

“I didn’t know whether to flop it or bump-and-run it or anything like that,” Sauers said. “So, I just went ahead with my bread and butter like when I was a kid, just hit my sand wedge and hit it perfect.”

The 50-year-old Sauers, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour who is making his 10th career start on the 50-and-over tour, had an 8-under 136 total at The Woodlands Country Club.

First-round leader Mike Goodes was second after his second straight 69.

Goodes made a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 16 and parred the final two holes.

“I played good,” Goodes said. “I made a great birdie for me (on 16), a nice 7-iron about 10 feet right of the hole and hit a really good putt in the hole. Then two good pars on 17 and 18 and I was glad to get in where I was.”

Only five players were under par, the lowest total after 36 holes in a Champions Tour event since the 2003 Verizon Classic at Tampa when three players were under par.

Loren Roberts was 3 under after a 69. Peter Senior (70) and Esteban Toledo (71) were 1 under, and Barry Lane had a 67 to top the group of five players at even par.

Goodes and Sauers dueled through much of the round, never separated by more than two shots.

Sauers ran in short putts for birdies on the first two holes and also had birdie putts of 3 feet on No. 6 and 15 feet on No. 8, but he hit a bad bunker shot and two-putted for a bogey on No. 9.

He trailed Goodes by one shot going to the final nine.

Sauers pulled even when Goodes three-putted from 18 feet on the par-4 11th.

Sauers charged from that point with three birdies over the final five holes, including his get-even birdie on No. 17.

“Luckily, it went in,” Sauers said. “It probably would have been about 6 or 8 feet by. I got a break there.”

Weather again was a factor although the wind didn’t gust to 30 mph as they did Friday.

“This is a great tough golf course,” Goodes said. “You get some wind and pretty firm greens, and they have done a fabulous job, the superintendent here.

“There’s a lot of great, great players on the Champions Tour, and for that few people to be under par after two rounds is a testament to the course. And also, I think the two of us are under par, we’re playing pretty darned good, too.”

PGA Tour

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Phil Mickelson and Nick Watney wound up tied for the lead in the Wells Fargo Championship, minus the separation from the rest of the field.

Mickelson hit a shot out-of-bounds on the 15th hole and hit another shot that struck a spectator in the head, costing him three shots over the last four holes at Quail Hollow in his round of 1-over 73. Watney hit a semi-shank with a 6-iron on the par-3 17th, took double bogey and had to settle for a 71.

It felt like a small consolation that they were tied at 8-under 208, one shot ahead of George McNeill, who had his share of trouble down the stretch for a 72.

“I can’t remember the last time I did that in a tournament, so it was a bit unsettling” Watney said about his shank. “The big picture? I’m tied for the lead, and I would have taken that on Thursday morning.”

Instead of pulling away from the pack, their mistakes in a wild final hour allowed a dozen players to get within three shots of the lead.

One of them was Rory McIlroy, who shot 73 and missed seven putts from the 5-foot range or closer, which was no way to celebrate his 24th birthday. McIlroy ranked 82nd out of the 83 players who made the 36-hole cut in the key putting statistic, yet he still goes into the final round with a good chance for his first win of the year.

But it’s a crowded race.

Savannah’s Brian Harman is tied for 10th at 5 under after rounds of 70-70-71.

LPGA Tour

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Two-time champion Cristie Kerr shot a 5-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead over second-ranked Stacy Lewis and Suzann Pettersen after the third round of the LPGA Tour’s Kingsmill Championship.

Kerr, the only two-time winner at the River Course, made six birdies to reach 10-under 203. She took command on a day when seven players shared the lead at one point or another, then faltered.

Lewis shot a 69, and Pettersen, the 2007 champion, had a 68.

Angela Stanford was fourth after a 70, and Ilhee Lee was fifth after an all-over-the-place 69.

Ariya Jutanugarn, the 17-year-old Thai player who led after each of the first two rounds, had three bogeys and a birdie on her first four holes and fought a balky putter for a 73 that left her five shots back.